Speaking to The News, Cllr Ellcome said: ‘It’s something we have never enforced before.

‘We have got to the point where people are complaining about congestion, which we are trying to improve, but there’s no point if the bus lanes are filled with people nipping in and out of them, making life difficult for the buses.

‘It’s one of a number of things we’re doing in the city to ease congestion, and getting people out of their cars and on to buses is a big part of that.

‘The message is, if drivers use bus lanes, they will be caught and fined.’

Cllr Ellcome said the £60 fine has been approved by the Department for Transport. It is the ‘medium’ penalty rate a council can set.

Only cyclists, hackney cabs and emergency services can legally use bus lanes.

The council says the police can already prosecute people who illegally use the lanes, but are unable to monitor them all the time.

Michael Robinson, parking services manager at the city council: ‘This is the first phase of a long-term programme to deploy enforcement across the city to reduce congestion and speed up public transport.’

But Cllr Sean Woodward, leader of Fareham Borough Council and Hampshire’s traffic official, said money should be spent on speed cameras as speeding is a more serious issue than bus lane enforcement.

He said: ‘I think this will be perceived by motorists as simply milking motorists again for something.

‘Personally, if I knew there was money for enforcement, then I would put it into speeding enforcement.

‘Speeding is more likely to result in death or injury, and money is very tight at the moment.’

The new cameras will go up from November 1 and will operate while buses are in operation.